Tamworth and Tom Tonks out to punish Tottenham with throw-in 'weapon' in FA Cup giant-killing

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Evening Standard

·12 janvier 2025

Tamworth and Tom Tonks out to punish Tottenham with throw-in 'weapon' in FA Cup giant-killing

Tom Tonks can throw a football further than some can kick one

Tamworth are plotting one of the biggest upsets in FA Cup history, and have a not-so-secret “weapon” in their armoury.

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Non-league Tamworth welcome Premier League giants Tottenham to the Lamb Ground today having already knocked out League One side Huddersfield, with the goal coming from monster throw-in master Tom Tonks.

Tonks, a journeyman midfielder, has built up a reputation for throwing a football further than some can kick it, and his long, looping throw from the touchline in November dropped under the crossbar was inadvertently punched into his own net by Huddersfield goalkeeper Chris Maxwell.

"I’ve been hurling in throw-ins since primary school," Tonks told The Sun earlier this season. “My headteacher at primary school said to me: ‘You never threw that in,’ because he had his back to me and assumed I’d kicked it. So I asked him if he wanted me to do it again and he couldn’t believe the distance.

"I’ve had a lot of joy with it since and get called the Rory Delap of the National League but I wouldn’t mind his wages from a few years ago! I’ve never actually measured how far I can throw the ball, I just launch it as far as I can.

“The lads sometimes ask me to take something off it and keep it between the goalposts, because I can deliver it well beyond the back post if I want. I can see it in the faces of opposing defenders and goalies — they absolutely hate it.”

Tom Tonks at a throw-in during win over Burton in FA Cup second round

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Asked how much Spurs should be concerned by Tonks’ throw, Salford City's Curtis Tilt told BBC Sport: “It's massive. I think it's it's more of a weapon than a corner, to be honest, because you can loop it in. You can drive it in.

Tonks added; “It's all about timing, I think. Obviously, you have to do a little bit of gym work as well. It's just lat pull-downs, that’s all it is really!

“It's it's difficult to defend because the trajectory of the ball is something you're not used to because keepers are used to corners all the time. We're quite lucky at Tamworth because we've got four or five six-foot-plus blokes that actually wanna head the ball.”

Tottenham, and new goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky, beware.